Adcox-Parker take early lead in Lafitte

Chad Adcox (right) of Covington, La., and Barry Parker of Bogalusa, La., lead the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series at Lafitte, La., with two redfish weighing 16-11.

March 8, 2007
by Rob Newell

LAFITTE, La. - Anglers fishing the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Western Division out of Lafitte had little to complain about on day one as a perfect fishing day graced the Louisiana Delta.

Bright sun, light winds and warming temperatures made long runs across the marsh easy and aided teams in spying reds in backwater ponds.

One team that took full advantage of the superb weather comprised Chad Adcox of Covington, La., and Barry Parker of Bogalusa, La., who brought in a monstrous pair of redfish weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces to take the day-one lead in the event.

"We caught the biggest one, which weighed about 9 1/2 pounds, at about 2 o'clock this afternoon," Adcox said. "We caught it while sight-fishing."

The team is targeting a big bay near Empire, La., which features groups of redfish swimming around in the small pockets and ponds off the bay.

"The water is shallow and clear," Adcox added. "We can see pods and schools of redfish swimming around in there. The fish are feeding on finger mullet, and we're using 1/4-ounce Redfish Magic spinnerbaits to catch them."

"And you don't even have to cast the spinnerbait, either," Parker offered. "When we see a fish, we just pitch the spinnerbait over there in front of the fish, and it blasts the bait. We caught 15 or 20 that way today."

Nesloneys second

Compared to many other teams in the Lafitte Redfish Series event, father and son David and David Nesloney of Rockport, Texas, are not running very far.

While other teams are logging 100 to 200 miles on their GPS units for a round trip to Venice, La., and beyond, the Nesloneys are only logging about 50 miles, yet their results have been impressive.
The Nesloneys currently hold down second place with a pair of redfish weighing 16 pounds even.

"We found a little area pretty close, and it seems to have quite a few fish in it," Nesloney Jr. said. "We're kind of sight-fishing, but we're kind of not. The water is not exactly clear enough to actually see the fish in the water, but we can see their pushes and wakes."

The team reported using Norton Bull Minnows to catch their fish today.

Phillips-Patterson third

Another well-known Rockport, Texas, team, Brett Phillips and Mike Patterson, are in third place with two redfish weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

They are sight-fishing about an hour south of the takeoff point and noted having trouble getting the slot fish to bite.

"This is the first time I've seen Louisiana fish spook," Patterson said.

"The really big ones will eat, and the really small ones will eat, but those perfect slot fish are pretty wary," Phillips added. "We don't really know why that is - fishing pressure, calm waters, bright sun - but whatever it is, when we pitch to a perfect-looking slot fish, they run."

The team reported catching most of their fish on Bass Assassin Slurps.

Friday-Dufrene fourth

The team of Mike Friday of Naples, Fla., and Chad Dufrene of Purvis, Miss., is in fourth place with a pair of redfish weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces.

Friday and Dufrene are sight-fishing reds about an hour and 15 minutes from the launch.

"We caught about 35 redfish today, and only three were keepers," Friday said. "That gives you some idea what we're up against. The area has plenty of fish, but many of them are just over the slot. And what's strange, the fish that look like they're in the slot are pretty darn picky; getting the keepers to eat has been hard."

Head-Hohle fifth

The team of Brennan Head of Lafayette, La., and Larry Hohle of Arnaudville, La., rounds out the fifth position with two redfish for 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

Day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series event begins Friday at 6 a.m. CST at the Lafitte Harbor Marina.

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